Elevated railway



2 Sheets- Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

R. 'F.ONBY.

ELEVATED RAILWAY.

No. 392,632.- Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

` R. T. ONEY.

ELEVATBD RAILWAY.

No. 392,682. Patented Nov. 18, 1888.

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ELEVATED RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,632, dated November 13,. 1888.

Application tiled August 13, 1888.

T aZZ .whom it 77mg/ concern:

Beit known that I, ROBERT T. ONEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charleston, in the county of Kanawha and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevated Railways;

, and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art toV which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class ot' elevated railways wherein the car is suspended beneath the track, and its object is to suspend the car by means of a balloon or equivalent machine, using the track only for purposes of traction and as a guide to the car.

The invention consists of a peculiar construction and arrangement of a locomotor having drive and guide wheels held firmly against the traction surface of an overhead center single rail by the lifting force of an aerostat.

In the accompanying drawings,wherein like letters represent like parts, Figure l is a side elevation of my device; Fig. 2, an end perspective thereof; Fig. 3, a crossssection of the bracket on the line 0c :c of the preceding figure; Fig. 1I, a perspective of the traction-rail suspended from a hillside; Fig. 5, a perspective of the rail suspended over a trench made for the passage oi' the car, and Fig. 6 a perspective of the rail suspended over a plain from posts.

A A are ordinary posts or standards, from which brackets B B project horizontally, and to the under surface of these brackets an inverted rail, C, is attached, substantially as shown. A inotor-car, D, arranged in any familiar manner, to be operated by steam, caloric, electricity, or any other suitable force, and to carry such passengers or goods as may be desired, runs belowthe rail, havinga drivewheel, E, and guide-wheels E F, with double flanges ffto keep the wheels true to the rail. From the axles e and f f of the several Wheels couplingrods G G rise into the air, bending around the rail O, as shown, the bends fitting as nearly as possible to the rail without coming in contact with the brackets. To the Serial No. 282.600. (No model.)

upper ends of these rods an aerostat, II, is iiexibly attached by ropes, chains, or other equivalent attachments L h, which can be payed out or hauled in,as wind-currents, physical obstructions, or other circumstances may determine.

I may dispense with the posts A and support the brackets B from the side of a hill or project them from the top thereof; or I may run the locomotor-car D in a trench and project the brackets over the mouth of the same, fastening them to the surface of the adjacent ground.

I may prefer to use two parallel rails in the same plane in lieu of the single rail, in which case I shall omit one ofthe anges f on each guide-wheel, and shall anchor the balloon to the top center of themotor-carin any familiar' way without bending` the coupling-rods around the rail, as above described.

By forming an angle, g, in each couplingrod, as shown in Eig. 2, the motorcar will be prevented from falling to the ground in the event of a failure or decrease of power in the aerostat.

I am aware that it is not new to support a motor by a balloon having sufficient force to furnish traction with overhead rails; hence I do not claim such a device broadly; but

Vhat I do claim as new and useful is the following:

The combination, iu an elevated-railway system, of brackets B B, the inverted rail C, the motor-car D, the couplingrods G, and the aerostat II, the said brackets being suitably supported by posts or natural supports, the said inverted rail being attached to the under surfaces of the said brackets, the said motorcar having a drive-wheel, E, and guide-wheels F F, the said coupling-rods being attached to the axles of said drive and guide wheels, and the said aerostat being iiexibly attached to said couplers by ropes h h, the whole constructed and arranged as herein shown and described, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT T. ONEY.

"Witnesses:

FRANK B. MARLOW, E. GUTHRIE. 

